I thought that after the disastrous 2002 Cup where out and out highway robbery by officials who had no business refereeing Cup matches caused so many bad calls that FIFA changed the rules for who was eligible to officiate Cup matches that the quality of ref's would improve. But today we have seen a Spanish referee destroy a match and a Malawi referee cost a team a game. The officiating is if anything as bad as the '02 atrocity. Where have you gone Pier Luigi Colina a soccer nation turns its lonely eyes to you.
When asked in the post-game conference whom the foul was on during the Americans' disallowed goal, the referee responded, "George Bush."
For the most part, I thought the majority of the first-round matches were well officiated. The offsides calls were generally correct, flopping was dealt with cynically, and a PK was only awarded when the referee was left no choice (obvious hand ball). But then the second round gets underway, and we immediately witness a harsh sending off and PK against the hosts, then the Spanish referee going batshit and handing out yellows like campaign buttons before reducing Germany to 10 men, and then the U.S.'s game-winning goal being disallowed for no reason whatsoever. What's it all mean? I don't know, but I'm a cynical person and the refereeing in today's contests reeks of match-fixing. Want to control the result against Germany in the first match? Dole out cautions left and right early in the game until you double up a German and force them to play short-handed for 55-plus minutes. Want to prevent a U.S. victory (or keep the match a draw)? Blow the whistle prematurely and for no reason on a threatening set piece when the Yanks have all the momentum and are smelling blood in the water. Again, I'm a cynical person, so I'm inclined to believe that corruption and greed are inevitable outcomes. And the easiest way to influence the result of a soccer match is to get to the referee (it's just one man, whereas you're dealing with 22-plus when it comes to the players on the pitch).
i dont know that the match was fixed...i mean even at the very start, the ref could have called a yellow or at least a foul on what looked to be a on purpose elbow from our texas boy clint dempsey. then with the yellow card flutter in the second half as well. i think the ref was in over his head, and he choked.
His inclusion to the World Cup strikes me as odd for other reasons as well though. Prior to the USA - Slovenia game, Coulibaly has drawn the ire of nations before. In fact, Tunisian fans became so sick of him, a Facebook page was created entitled "TUNISA ALL AGAINST Koman Coulibaly the cheater". But enticing an entire nation to loathe you is not, by all accounts, his worst crime to date. In a 2006 World Cup qualifier, Coulibaly inexplicably awarded Cameroon a penalty kick in stoppage time. To be frank, this was yet another phantom foul to say the least. Had Cameroon converted the shot (and thus won the game), it would be Cameroon, and not the Ivory Coast that would have qualified for the World Cup. Fortunately the Cameroon shooter somehow missed the penalty shot. Nevertheless, this was still an awful call at an incredibly awful time. The Link Ugh. Does anybody remember the WC ref from Uruguay who made some really ****** and suspect calls against the U.S. last WC? Remember that the previous WC he was disallowed from it due to scandal in Uruguay? WTF, why we keep getting these guys?
It is a very frustrating, unfortunate part of the game. The teams I follow have been on the business end of many, many terrible decisions. The Malian ref was awful, which he made abundantly clear when he didn't even give Clint Dempsey a yellow for his elbow at the first of the game. Any other ref would not have hesitated to pull the straight red on Dempsey. When I saw that, I had a bad feeling the ref was going to decide the match, one way or another. I don't mind having refs from different parts of the world, as long as they get regular work in their home league and continental tournaments. I would also love to see FIFA enable some sort of referee exchange program where refs can travel, work, and learn in different leagues around the world. But FIFA is never proactive or reactive. They are as willing to change and improve themselves as much as MLB.
You are correct about Dempsey. Chances are good that he would have gotten a Red if not a VERY stern Yellow and watched like a Hawk. I too wish there was an exchange where maybe ref's from smaller countries and less experience could maybe work the line of an EPL or similiar league. Then they can do a match that has no title or relegation implications to see how they do. But this would take planning and giving a **** not to mention effort. All things FIFA distances themselves from, it seems.
Maybe I'm just being a Dempsey apologist, but that early elbow didn't seem as flagrant as so many have made it out to be. For one, if straight reds were issued to everyone who used their arms to create some space on a contested header, matches would end 5-on-5. Second, sure looked like Dempsey got the guy in the throat, yet he went to ground holding the top of his head, which suggested to me he was embellishing his injury in hopes Dempsey would be punished. On that note, I do believe Clint deserved a yellow, but a straight red in the first minute of the game? Absurd, in my opinion.
A VERY strong yellow with watchful eyes from Droopy the Ref the rest of the match. It could go either way and there would be people on either side of the decision who disagreed with it.
just to get everyone fired up for tomorrow...screencap from the last game i hope we take out frustrations on algeria.
Once again there was piss poor refereeing that could have cost the US advancement. Dempsey ends up with a bloody mouth and nose as well. If FIFA does not start allowing replays to punish people after the fact, at the least, they will be sent to their room without dinner or desert.
i just dont think fifa knows how to ref a game where players arent flopping and bitching and moaning. that's just not how the yanks play ball. it is disappointing, and had we walked away with a draw today it would have been remarkably remarkably disappointing. at least now our boys know what they are up against. it's not going to get any easier in knock out play. the refs are ****, and we cant rely on them.
I don't expect it to ever be a rule change, but I'd like to see the grabbing infractions in the box result in a direct kick (with wall allowed) from the top center of the "D" at the edge of the box. There is so much holding that goes on, and a single PK can be such a game decider, that there should be some kind of 'in between' penalty. That way, refs could make the call in the box more frequently without blowing up games with PK's. Grabbing in the box when the ball is in the grabbed player's possession could still be a PK. Maybe you could limit a direct kick from the top of the 'D' to corner kicks and other set pieces when grabbing happens in the box and keep it as a PK with/without a card in all other instances.
